I LOVE my new camera which I just got on Saturday. Here's the best shots from this weekend: Laughing Kookaburra, male and female Satin Bowerbird's, nesting Grey Fantail and a very sneaky Variegated Fairy-Wren (chased him for 40 minutes and only got 4 dodgy photo's!!). Very pleased.
Good variety of birds there.
Those Variegated Fairy-Wrens can be very hard to photograph as I found out today.
I cheated a little though.
I stayed in one place near where thery were & played their call a couple of times to entice them near me.
It worked!
I managed to get a couple of decent shots. About 20:1 (20 bad to 1 decent shot) lol
While your shots are nice, a tiny bit of tweaking on either Lightroom or Photoshop can turn a nice photo into a really nice photo.
Especially with you Female Satin Bowerbird & Kookaburra as they are nice shots.
Just reducing some of the dark shadows around the eyes can make the photo pop.
I know some will dissagree but as you learn to use your new camera, this can help.
But make sure not to overdo it as it can look too fake.
I hope this helps
Cheers
Devster
Nice job Devster, even with the cheating.
I was in thick srcub which made even harder. I literally only got 6 shots but in two of them he was too quick and got out of the photo. Fun chase though.
I've always thought about playing the call of a pardolate to see if I can get the one that lives near my house. Haven't tried it yet. Would be a nice challenge.
Thanks OoK
Be sure if you do play the sounds not to over do it as they can stress the bird.
Not every bird responds to this but I find the wrens particularly do.
So do the Robins, Whistlers, Gerygones, Mistletoebirds & flycatchers.
I have the Michael Morcome guide to Australian Birds app on my phone. It's expensive but well worh it!
It has a variety of different calls for the birds &has maps & all the info on all the birds. I love it!
Nice work, love the Fantail!
Come on, don't keep us in suspense, what's the new camera?
I haven’t been on the forum much lately. Only have a look from time to time, and just read about the use of recorded bird songs. Don’t want to argue with anyone, but before you use any devices to entice birds to come close, think about it. Is it worth confusing and disturbing any birds, just for the sake of getting a good photo? There is such a rule as “ethical birding”, you can find the guidelines on BIBY. Especially right at the moment, the breeding season being in full swing, it is not fair on the birds. The birds might feel threatened by thinking there is an intruder in the area, or a female calling….there can be many confusing messages for the birds.
I’m simply pleading in place of the birds, because they can’t do it themselves.
M-L
Hmmm, I find myself agreeing with M-L
Great photos with the new camera Owl!
Very nice of the female satin bower bird and the grey fantail on the nest.
Owl of Kedumba you have a few people waiting to see what camera you decided to buy?
I include myself in that list.
Samford Valley Qld.
SOrry guys hahah couldn't help the suspense. Well the idea was to get a relatively compact camera with a good zoom/picture quality that I could take on bushwalks. Nothing too flash but not bad either: a Nikon Coolpix P600 (the black one if you must know!). I'm lucky though I got it $100 off from a sale. I'm very happy with it!
Thanks for the comments everyone. Thanks Araminta, that is a good point you make and something that definitely does need considering. I think it's a good idea to look into that further. I do know a wildlife surveryor who uses that app. It would be nice to see his thoughts on that.
Thanks for the tips Devster, I see what you mean. As I get used to my camera I will certaintly be looking at ways to make my photo's even better, but still as authentic as possible. I think the main idea is to find the best settings for different types of shots. However I'm not too keen on Photoshop as such. I'm a bit of a "naturalist" if you know what I mean.
Its aways fun to have new toys to play with ,some really nice shots well done , small fast moving birds in heavy foliage are always a challenge ,as for call play back personally I think its ok in moderation, if you do use it try not to stay in the one spot for to long ,I find making squeaking noises through my teeth or whistling sounds can be more effective especially with some of the more aggressive Honey-eaters and quite often the more inquisitive birds like Wrens and Robins will come in to see whats making the strange noise.
Photoshop gets a bit of a bad rap mainly from those who don't understand it or have seen "bad examples" of what it can do ,used correctly it is a fantastic tool not just enabling us to get the most out of our images but as you keep more photos it is by far the BEST way to sort and store them all and be able to find them again with just a couple of clicks .
Well put Sparrow
I agree with everything you have said, especially about photoshop.
It is scary at first but with youtube theres no stopping you.
While there is absolutely no substitute for a great original/natural photo, photoshop can turn some of your bin pile into some nice photos.
I find it usefull also for getting rid of unwanted foreign objects in the back ground or sticks in unwanted places.
Thanks for the comments Devster/sparrow. I am open to new ideas. There's no better way to learn than from experimentation and experience.